miller



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W. H. MILLER.

ARG LAMP.

N0. 400,352. Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

15u/enfin .zfifar/zeff.

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. H. MILLER.

ARO LAMP.

Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM ll. MILLER, OF NEIV YORK, Y;

ARC LAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part or Letters meent No. 400,352, dated March 2e,l lese. Application filed June 26, 1888; Serial No'. 278,251. (No niodh) .To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it kn own that I, WILLIAM H. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Arc Lamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the construction of are lamps, and comprises certain improvements in the feeding mechanism, the devices for cutting a lamp in and out of circuit, both automatically and by hand, and also the formation of the negative-carbon holder and devices for the clamping of the globe, and the operation thereof for the purpose of cleaning and removing for trimming the lamp, t-he various features being in part improvements upon my Patent No. 376,007.

The invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of y parts, substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

I/Vhile some of the parts hereinafter described are applicable to various forms of are lamps, I intend them more especially for use in connection with what I may term a focusing-lamp of that class wherein the negative carbon is propelled upwardly against fixed abutments and the positive carbon is gradually fed downward to compensate for its own consumption at the are, the result being that the are itself remains in a relatively fixed position in the globe.

In the drawings which form part of this specification, Figure l is an elevation, partl5v sectional, of the complete lamp. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bottom plate of the lampcase, showing the cut-out devices. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same from one side. Fig. 4 is a similar view from the opposite side. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation showing the action of the adjusting-spring and its relations to the lever. Fig. 6 is a view of the positivecarbon guideK Fig. 7 is a view showing the relations of the lower tubes for coupling together, and Fig. S is a bottom view showing details of the removable bottom or ash-pan of the globe-holder.

I construct the lamp as follows: The working parts. operating the feeding mechanism of the positive carbon are all contained within ra case formed by the upper or cover plate, l, into which from above is screwed the stack 2, provided with a hanger, 3, and the lower plate, Ll, united together by the pillars 5, the whole being covered by the cylinder 6. The control of the feeding devices depends upon a solenoid composed of the coarse wire 7 and fine wire S, both wound upon the same spool, 9, and connected into the circuit respectively in series with and in shunt to the arc in the usual manner, so as to oppose each others action. The spool 9 occupies a central position in t-he lamp-case, and is fixed to the upper plate, 1, by means of the liber disk 10, which is of larger diameter than the spool-heads, and is screwed to the top plate, l, by screws 1l, as shown. The spool 9 is preferably made of brass, and is fixed to the fiber disk 10 by means of the screws 12, which pass through the fiber and are threaded into the metal of the spool, as shown in Fig. 1. The spool is thus entirely insulated from the lamp-case, so far as concerns its upper plate.

The clutch mechanism is constructed as follows: On a suitable lug or boss east on the cover-plate 1, I fix the hanger 13, and on this I pivotally suspend the link 14 in such manner that the latter is insulated from the former, but swings therein to accommodate the adjustment of the lever, hereinafter described. The lower end of link let has pivoted to it the adjusting-block 15, which is adapted to move horizontally on the lever 1G, and is caused to move by the feed-screw 17, arranged in ixed centers ou the lever 1G. As theblock 15 forms the fulcrum of lever 16, it is obvious that the movement ol' the block inwardly or outwardly effects a shortening or lengthening of the power-arm of the lever, and in the arrangement shown it also effects a change in the length of the weight-arm of the lever, and as the lever is pivoted to the solenoid-core and cannot be shifted horizontally the suspending-link le must be capable of adjustment to follow the adjustment of the block 15. The lever 1G is formed with a large opening at its middle, so as to pass around the tubular core 18, to which it is pivoted by screws 19, or equivalent devices. At the other end the lever 1G is connected to the piston-'rod 2O of dash- IOO pot 2l, which itself is pivoted to a hanger or support, 22, fixed to but separated by insulation from the projecting ledge 23 of the coverplate l. By the foregoing construction and method of insulation the entire clutch system, movable core, and its solenoid are entirely insulated from the frame of the lamp.

In the center of the lower plate, 4, of the lamp-case I insert the internally-tlu-eaded metallic bushing 24, having its lower end threaded externally, on which, after passing it through the plate 4, I screw the yoke-shaped iron guide 25, which extends down several inches, and is formed with a guide-tube, 26, at its lower end for the passage of the carbon C, in order to prevent the latter from taking too wide a range of lateral motion near the position of the arc. Into the threaded bushing 24 from below I screw the adjusting-sleeve 27, which is finished with a milled rim at its lower end for convenience of handling, and is provided with the jam-nut 28, for tightening it when it has been properly adjusted. A seat, 29, is cut in the inside of sleeve 27, so that the latter may form a guide for the clutchtube and at the same time form a platform or tripper for the clutch. The sleeve 24 and its appurtenances are insulated from the plate 4 by mica insulation, which is shown by the heavy black lines in Fig. l,

As matter of precaution for the purpose of making sure of the electrical connection with the carbon C, I provide the lower part of sleeve 27 with a number of spring-lingers, 30, which bear lightly against the carbon and insure a good contact, the current being carried direct to said sleeve after passing' through the coarse wire of the solenoid attached to the sleeve at its lug 3l. The clutch-tube 32 is slightly larger internally than the average diameter of the carbons to be used, and is cut away at one side for the entrance of the clutch-blade. A ring, 33, is fastened around the upper end of the clutch 32, and forms a pivotal support for the clutch-bar 34, which is open at the center, so as to pass around the clutch 32 freely, and. is provided with the L.- shaped biting-blade 35, which is slotted for the clamp-screw 36, to permit adjustment by means of the adjusting-screw 37. The clutchbar 34, at its end opposite the biting-blade 35, is suspended to the lever 16 by the link 33. The tube 32, being guided by the sleeve 27, forms an upper guide for the carbon C, and the lower guide for the said carbon is constituted by the tubular end 26 of the iron guide or yoke 25.

On following out the construction of the -clutch it will be observed that on the upward Y clutch-bar 34, with its biting-blade 35, into contact with the carbon and give the same a sufficient grip to carry it upward with the continued upward movement of the core 13. The reverse movement of the lever 16, consequent on the descent of the core 18, of course lowers the carbon to compensate for its consumption until the clutch-tube 32 reaches with its lower end the shoulder or platform 29 in the sleeve 27, which immediately stops the movement downwardly of the said tube, and then the continued downward movement of the core forces downwardly that end of the clutch-bar 34 and causes the biting-blade 35 to ease up, or entirely leave contact with the carbon C and take a fresh grip thereon.

In order to give the core 1S as little work as possible and coni-lne its lifting power to the weight of the carbon alone, or as nearly as possible, I attach to the lever 16 the spiral spring 39, which is connected in an insulated manner to the ledge 23 of the cover-plate l. This spring is adjusted to about counterbalance the downward tendency of gravity of the lever system, clutch, core, and dash-pot piston, so that the solenoid may be wound to have little more than enough power normally to lift the weight. It will merely have to overcome the inertia of the foregoing parts.

I have shown the spring in Fig. l as occupying a fixed relation without adj ustability, on account of the difficulty of showing the arrangement which I prefer, (as its position would be at right angles and would interfere with a proper understanding of Fig. 1;) but in practice I arrange the spring as shown in Fig. 5, wherein a lever, 40, is pivoted near the upper end of one of the pillars 5, and has one end connected to the lever 1G through a wire link, 4l, and the other end of the lever 40 has attached to it a long spiral spring, 39, which at its lower end is connected to an adjusting-lever, 42, which is pivoted near the bottom of the same pillar, 5, and is adjusted by the thumb-screw 43 passing upwardly through the plate 4 of the lamp-case. The end of lever 40, to which spring 39 is connected, is provided with a series of holes at various points, so that the lever-arm of the spring may be adjusted. This arrangement gives me the benet of two adjustments of the spring, to adapt the same to the variable conditions of manufacture and use. The adjustable fulcrum, constituted by the block I5 and feed-screw 17, is very convenient in adjusting the lamp, and the intention is that when the proper adjustment is secured at this point to set the link 14 rigid by the clamping-screw 44, so that when the latter is tightened the lever system will oscillate on the pivot carrying the block l5. The position of seat 29 determines the point at which the clutch releases the carbon C, and, as before stated, this position may be varied by suitable adjustment of the sleeve 27.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the handswitch and automatic cut-out are constructed and arranged as follows: On the plate 4 of the lamp-case I lplace a magnet, 45, con- IOO IIO

'structed of tine wire, which is placed in series with the shunt-coil 8 of the lamp, and this magnet is supported on the iron bracket 46 at one end, and at the other end is provided with a pole-piece, 47. I pivot the armature 48 in the bracket 46, and arrange beneath the same the push-pin 49, which projects through the plate 4, so as to be accessible from below. Tith the exception of the coil of the magnet 45 none of its parts are in any manner whatever in the lamp-circuit, and therefore may be fixed directly to the Vplate 4 without regard to insulation.

On plate 4, at a point diametrically opposite to magnet 45, I place a block of insulating material, 50, and on this I fix the metallic plate 5l, which is at one side provided with binding-post or wire-connector 52, for convenience of attachment of the wire. A small block of insulating material is placed on top of plate 5l, and has attached to it a copper or other suitable metallic spring, 53, having its free end bent upwardly to form an incline, 54, as shown at Fig. 4. Plate 51, by means of its connector 52, or in any other suitable manner, is connected directly with the negative-line terminal of the lamp and the springblade 53 54 is connected directly with the positive-line terminal of the lamp, so that it will be readily seen that if the part 53 54 is pressed into contact with the plate 5l the en- 'tire mechanism of the lamp will be short-circuited and the lamp extinguished. Passing through the plate 4 at a point intermediate between the cut-out magnet 45 and the cutout proper, 5l 53, is a shaft, 55, provided below with a suitable handle, 5G, and above rigidly connected with a two-armed lever, 57 58, whose arm 57 extends over to and is adapted to pass under the armature 48, when the latter is lifted out of its path, and whose other arm, 58, extends over to and above the spring-blade 53 54, the arm being bent upwardly for that purpose and at its outer extremity is provided on its under side with a block of insulating material, 59, which is in contact with the spring-blade 53 54, but in the normal position shown by Fig. 4 exerts no pressure upon said blade. It will be readily seen from inspection of the figure that by a suitable motion of the lever 57 58 the arm 58 will be pressed along the inclined portion 54 of the blade 53, and force the latter down into iirm contact with plate 5l, thereby shortcircuiting th'e line-terminals and extinguishing the lamp. Normally this motion of the lever is prevented by the armature 48, which stands in its path. As it is designed that the above motion of the lever should be automatic, I attach to it the spiral spring 60, whose .other end is hooked over a pin, 61,011 the plate 4, and this spring is normally under tension.

For the cutting out of the lamp by hand, it is only necessary to push up the pin 49, which forces the armature 48 out of the way of the lever-arm 57 whereupon the spring GO immediately produces the required motion of the arm and contact of the blade 53 54 with plate 5l, as above described. For the automatic cutting out of the lamp, the parts are so arranged that the normal current flowing around the magnet 45 will be insuiiicient to draw the armature 48 up to the pole-piece 47 but when by excessive lengthening of the arc, and consequent increase of its resistance, the difference of potential between the terminals of the circuit, including the main shunt 8 and the magnet 45, rises suiiiciently, the latter will be considerably increased in strength, and the result will be that the armature 48 will be lifted out of the way of lever-arm 57 and the spring 60 will then immediately cause a closing of the contracts 53 and 5I, and the short circuit thus produced by the excessive lengthening of the arc will'be maintained until the cause of the failure of the feeding apparatus has been removed and the lamp switched into circuit again by hand by means of the projecting handle 5G.

The lower part of the lamp is constructed as follows: The yoke 62 is carried on the side rods, 63, which are attached to the lower plate, 4, ot' the lamp-case. Yoke 62 is formed at its center with an upper stage, 64, and the lower stage, 65, leaving an open slot between the two stages. In the upper stage, but separated from it by mica insulation, as shown by the heavy lines, I insert the lower end of the anged tube 66, whose annular nange 67 extends out some distance, and to which is fastened the negative wire 68, which thence passes up one of the side rods 63. Both the upper and lower end of tube 66 are externally threaded. A collar, 69, having its upper face formed with inclined planes, is slipped over the upper end of tube 66 and rests on the flange 67, so as to rotate freely thereon, and is surmounted by the collar 70, which carries the guide 7 I for the negative carbon and in whose open frame-work 72 are pivoted the adjustable abutments 73. Resting on the collar U9, and having its under face similarly formed with inclined planes, is a second collar, 74, having at three or four points the lugs 75, which are slotted for the reception of the lower end of the abutment-blades 73. By this construction, on rotating the collar 69, the upper collar, 7 4, is caused to rise vertically to the limit allowed in construction. The abutment-blades 73 are each formed with a slot at the lower end, which tits over a pin, 7 G, in the lugs 74, and as each of the blades 73 is pivoted to thc frame 72 at an intermediate point, 77, the rise of the collar 7 4 forces all of the abutment-blades 73 to contract at the upper ends, and the downward movement of the said collar causes an opening of the abutmentsattheir upper ends. Obviously,byscrew ing the collar up or down on the tube G6, I can adapt travel of the blades 73 to the requirements, so that by a single movement the size of the abutment-opening formed by the blade- IOO IIO

tips may be varied to suit different sizes or conditions of carbons. By removing' the pins at the points 77 the blades 7 3 may be taken out and new ones inserted, and as they are made of common sheet-iron of sufficient thickness they can be readily carried in the pocket, are very inexpensive, and a new set can be applied to any lamp in which such are found necessary. The guide 7l permits the passage of the carbon C; but the abutments 7 3 are adjusted when in their closed position so as to prevent the carbon from passing through them. The lower end of frame 72 is formed tubular, and is threaded to screw down onto the upper end of the tube 66. The lower end of this tube 66 is secured by the nut 7S, and the insulation is interposed between the upper stage, 64, of the yoke-and the tube 66 and the nut 7 8, and is therefore always under compression. For this insulation, owing to the shape of parts, I am able to utilize mica, which is not affected by the weather nor the heat. The abutment-blades 7 3 are, as stated, made so as to be adjustable within any required limits for opening and closing. The carbons of different makes and lots of the same make, as also carbons of various degrees of hardness, require different closed positions of the abutment-blades, and for these reasons I adopt the form shown.

Into the lower stage, 65, of the yoke I screw a tube, 79, of sufficient length for the purpose, and in the lower end of this I construct a double bayonet-slot, 80, (see Fig. 7 and on this tube 7 9, itted so as to slide freely, is the globe-holder or spider S1, having the adjusting-screws 82, and carrying the pivot-catch 83, which is normally pressed by spring 84, so that in pushing up the globe-holder the catch S3 will lift over the flange 65 of the lower stage of the yoke and snap into position, so as to hold the globe-holder securely until it is desired to lower the globe, which can be done by simply grasping the tubular extension 85 of the holder, and with the thumb pressing the tail-piece of catch 83, the latter will be lifted out of engagement with flange and the globe can be lowered. A stop-collar, 86, fitting the tube 79 externally, is furnished with an in wardly-projecting pin, which fits one of the bayonet-slots 8O in tube 79, and the purpose of this collar is to aiford a resting place for the globe-holder while trimming the lamp, for which purpose the globeholder is lowered until it rests on the upper edge of the collar 86. A second tube, 87, just fitting the bore of tube 7 9, is furnished with a projecting pin which fits in the remaining portion of the slot S0 on the inside and holds the lower tube, 87, securely in place. Inside of tube 87, but separated therefrom by heavy insulation for a sufficient distance to compel a concentric position, is a long tube, 88, of small diameter, which passes unobstructedly up through the tube 79 and through the upper tube, 66, and is furnished at its upper end with a cap, S9, whose edge is beaded inwardly, so as to partly guide the carbon C2, and at its lower end tube S8 is formed with an internal shoulder for the support of the propelling-spring 90, which I prefer to construct in two parts, the short piece 90 being uppermost and nearest the source of heat, so that in case of loss of elasticity from continued exposure to heat the spring can be renewed by simply taking out the short upper section and replacing it.

Between the spring 90 and carbon C2, I place a spider or follower, 91, its lower end grasping or inclosing the uppermost spiral of the spring 90 and its upper end spread out so as to take a good bearing on the lower end of carbon C2. As the carbon is consumed and propelled upwardly, the follower 91 is prevented from passing out of the tube by the inwardly-turned edge of cap 89. Contactsprings 92 are fitted to cap 89 both above and below, so as to insure good electrical contact between the carbon C2 and the tube 66 and its flange 67, and holding tube S8 centrally, the springs forming the upper bearing for this tube. It will be seen that since the tube 88 is open both at top and bottom and the follower 91 is spider-shaped a free passage of air is provided through the tube and spring, so as to ventilate the same and keep the parts comparatively cool.

In trimming the lamp, if it is only desired to lower the globe, the operation will be as already described; but if the globe be broken or for any other reason desirable to remove the collar S6 can be slipped out of the way, after which the hand-grasp 85 of the globeholder is free to pass down and off the tube 79, after which a new globe maybe placed in position and the whole returned to working order.

IVhen necessary to insert a fresh pair of carbons, tube 8S is withdrawn, collar 69 rotated to open the points 7 3, the upper carbon removed and replaced by a new one, collar 69 restored to close the points 7 3, a new negative carbon inserted into tube 88, and the tube restored.

As it is often desirable to clean out the accumulation of ash and other material which gathers in the bottom of the globe,I have designed a means of doing this without lowering or removing the globe or its holder 8l. For this purpose I fit a sliding collar, 94, on the hand-hold sleeve S5, and this collar is grooved vertically inside to fit a spline, 95, on the sleeve 85. The collar 94 supports a sheetmetal disk, 96, (it may, if desired, be fastened to the collar,) which forms afalse bottom for the globe 97 and catches all ashes and globules falling from the carbons. To clean these out, it is only necessary to rotate the collar 94 till its inner groove corresponds with spline 95, whereupon the collar and disk may belowered or removed, cleaned of their contents, and replaced. The rotation serves to lock it. The

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lower edge of collar 94: may be cut away to form two shoulders as stops to the rotation and guide for manipulation.

I claim as my inventionl.v In an arc lamp, the combination of an actuating-lever connected to the core of the controlli 11g-magnet, and an adjustable hanger, to which said lever is pivotally connected by means of an interposed fulcrum-block carried by the lever and adjustable lengthwise therewith, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the hollow solenoidcore IS, lever 16, pivoted thereto, link 38, pivoted clutch-bar 34, having engaging edge or blade, and sleeve 32, to which said clutch-bar is pivoted, substantially as described.

3. In an arc lamp in which one of the carbons is propelled continuously through the aperture formed by abutments bearing against its breast behind the point, the combination, with a stationary frame or holder, of a group of converging abutment-blades adjustable in said frame, and means for adj Listing said blades in the frame or holder.

4. The combination of an abutment-frame with removable blades forming the abutment at their apex, substantially as described.

5. The combination of an abutment-frame, pivoted blades thereon converging toward a center above the pivotal level, and a movable adjusting device movable on said frame in operative connection with and adapted to effeet the joint and simultaneous movement of said blades, substantially as described.

G. In an arc lamp, the combination, with the lower yoke and atube projecting downwardly therefrom, of a globe-holder movable vertically on said tube and supported thereby below the yoke, a disk below said globe-holder, and a supporting-ring for said disk having a bayonet-lock on said tube, adapting it to vertical movement on the tube independently of the globe-holder.

7. In an arc lamp wherein one carbon is propelled constantly against a fixed abutment by a spring, the combination, with the carbon-inclosing tube and abutment, of a twopart spring composed of a main and supplementary part, the latter being adjacent to the carbon and constituting a removable sect-ion of the propelling-spring', substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afIiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IVILLIAM H. MILLER.

IVitnesses:

W. S. PATTERSON, N. H. JoHNsToN. 

